


Just Bros Being Pals

by Achilles (poguschampus)



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Friendship, Gen, I don't think they've ever interacted but that's fine, I'm gonna say it again don't ship them, Superpowers, a buncha youtubers i like, do not ship them please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28575453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poguschampus/pseuds/Achilles
Summary: Just bros being pals... if those bros had superpowers.With their rapidly changing bodies, no one has any idea who they are or who they're supposed to be anymore.Impostor syndrome is rough, but at least they've got each other!
Relationships: Friendship - Relationship, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 74





	1. Technoblade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My mans gets some brim

My eyes slowly flutter open as I wake up. I sit up in his bed and yawn, stretching my unused muscles. I can see the morning light faintly shine through the curtains of the dusty apartment. Man, I really need to clean.

I check my phone. _10 am, better than usual._ I go on my phone for an hour before finally deciding to get up.

I stand up and head to the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. My long, pink hair is faded at the ends, and the roots are my natural dark brown. I check the cabinet, but there’s no dye or even bleach in sight. I sigh. _I need to get groceries, anyway._

I start to brush my teeth, but I stop before I can put the toothbrush in my mouth. I set it down on the counter and inspect my teeth. _Are they getting… sharper?_

I stare at my canines. They’ve always been more pointed than normal, but last time I checked they weren’t _this_ bad. I brush it off and laugh to myself, it’s silly to think that my teeth somehow got sharper. I get ready for the day and put on a hoodie and jeans. Not much of an upgrade from my pajamas, but they’ll have to do. I pull my hair back into a ponytail and get into my car.

As I drive I quietly hum along to whatever music that’s playing on the radio. It’s not exactly my taste in music, but the melodies are catchy and I’ve heard them enough to know at least the chorus.

I decide to go to the mall, since I need new clothes and there’s a Target nearby anyway.

I awkwardly make my way through the crowd, trying my best not to bump into anyone. I notice I tower over everyone, more than usual.

I spot a nearby children’s trampoline area, the one that they put up when it’s not Christmas. There’s a weirdly tall stadiometer so they can measure the kids’ height and make sure they’re not too small. Like any kid’s gonna be 7 feet tall.

I try to sneakily walk by the stadiometer, adjusting my glasses so I can try and catch a glimpse of my height. _6 foot, 6?_ I stop in my tracks. _That can’t be right._ I start to become hyper-aware that I’m just standing there, so I start walking again, not quite sure where I’m heading. My thoughts are racing with no sign of slowing down.

Before I realize it, I’m standing in front of some random clothing store I had no idea existed. I don’t go to the mall that often.

I step inside, quiet elevator music ringing throughout the store. The clothes aren’t exactly modern, but they aren’t bad, either. I pick up a grey sweater with a black denim jacket draped over it. _I guess I’m a large now?_ I also grab some lightly colored jeans I think might look good with the top and go into the changing room.

I take my hoodie off, revealing my bare chest. Before I can try the sweater on I look into the mirror. I _definitely_ did not have a six-pack and muscular biceps, last time I checked. I stare at my reflection. I barely recognize it. I can’t even see my head in the mirror because I’m so tall.

I start to panic. What the _hell_ is happening to me? I would’ve at least noticed my new body when I was changing this morning, or when I was in the car. How am I changing so rapidly that even I don’t notice it right away? I don’t _hate_ it, but it’s just… confusing. I’m Technoblade, a random nobody that stays inside and plays video games all day, not some dude who goes to the gym and gets ripped.

Maybe going out wasn’t the best idea, after all. I mean, who knows what could happen while I’m just walking around.

I decide I’m just gonna go to Target and get hair dye, then sort this out when I get home. I pay for the clothes without trying them on, praying that they fit. I’m not too sure they will.

\--------

I drive over to Target, frequently checking the mirror in case another drastic change happens. This time I notice my eyes slowly fading from a dark brown to a golden yellow. I grip the steering wheel tightly, but I hear something crack in the middle and immediately loosen my grip. I sigh. I’m so tired of today.

I just need to grab the hair dye and bleach, then get home. That’s it. I can figure it all out later.

I step inside the store, the cold air making me shiver a bit, despite my warm hoodie. My shoes tap against the white tile, the chattering of people in the background drowned out by my racing thoughts. 

I stare at the hair dye, the bleach already in my basket, looking for the color I normally get. I’m more zoned out, though, but I snap out of it when someone says something to me. It feels like my brain is slapped as I try to figure out what they just said.

“Heh?” I ask, too tired to talk.

“I said I like your contacts.” They smile. “Where’d you get them from?”

I pause for an uncomfortable amount of time, debating what to say.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t remember!” they say, waving their hands dismissively.

“Oh yeah, I…” I put my hand over my mouth, trying to hide my embarrassed blush. “Yeah, I don’t remember, sorry.”

“That’s okay! See you around!” They wave goodbye and walk out of the isle. I awkwardly wave goodbye as well.

As soon as they leave, I put my face in my hands and groan into my palms. That was awful. I reflexively tuck my hair behind my ear, something I do when I’m embarrassed. Instead of the roundedness I’m normally comforted by, It feels pointed, but only slightly. I think I can still catch it changing.

I hurriedly walk over to the bathroom, trying not to run. As soon as I make it to the hallway, I open the door. It opens loudly, probably a side effect of whatever’s happening.

When I open the door I see a man with short, light brown hair frantically staring at his arms, which are in fact missing. On the ground is… slime? I stare at him for a few moments, and he stares at me, panic bright in his eyes.

I leave and close the door behind me. I cannot deal with this today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY actual attempt at a story let's go!!!!!!!!  
> The beginning will be about them all meeting, but the rest will be slice of life episodes with a semi main plot........... which I have............... definitely figured out...........  
> I tried writing this in third person since ao3 seems to like that but I just can't!!!!!!! so I didn't!!!!!!  
> this is #notsponsored by target


	2. Charlie Slimecicle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The slime is becoming... slime.

I, Charlie Slimecicle, am not having a good day.

It all started when I woke up. Well, I guess that’s most days, but this day was exceptionally worse than most.

When I woke up, I realized the tips of my fucking fingers were missing, so that’s pretty shit in and of itself, but I also woke up with slime in place of where my fingertips should be. Yep. Translucent, green slime. Where my fingertips should be.

Either there was a fingertip stealing, slime-replacing bandit, or something’s not right in the ‘ol me department.

The ooze also seemed to stick to my body. I’m pretty sure that I don’t have any slime-attracting qualities in my skin, so that was pretty weird too. 

I decided to just restick the slime on my fingers and put some gloves on. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s what I like to say.

I was cooking breakfast when I felt my fingers fully fall off. I tried to grab my toast out of the toaster when I realized I couldn’t grab anything anymore. I took off the gloves with my mouth, and lo and behold, there was green slime where my fingers should be.

I decided that this was  _ definitely  _ a problem, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I mean, what are you supposed to do when your body slowly turns into slime? If there’s ever an answer to that then let me know.

I decide to ditch the gloves and watch TV. I obviously can’t do anything about this, so might as well go out with a bang, sitting on the couch watching random shows until I eventually turn into a green mass of slime. I hold the remote with my legs and press the buttons with my nose. It’s a sad sight, but it was effective in the moment.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t all that worried for my upcoming demise, but more curious as to how this happened.

“Am I high?” I said out loud to no one. I stopped. I hadn’t considered that possibility. Maybe I sleep-snorted some drugs or something. I’ll put that one at the bottom of the list, I decided.

Eventually, since nothing else seemed to be happening, I let my curiosity get the better of me.  _ I wonder if store bought slime would also stick to this. Would the two substances combine? _ I thought. Well, now I couldn’t just let this go unanswered before I die.

I put on some tighter gloves I had shoved in the back of my closet and put on my coat, then stopped before I could get out the door.  _ How the hell am I going to drive? _

I opened the door, determined.  _ I’ll worry about that later. _

I fumble for my wallet, the slime somehow providing cushioning for it so I can dig my keys out with my mouth. After a few minutes of struggling, I finally got it. I felt weirdly proud of myself for fishing my keys out of my wallet with my mouth.

I stopped and stared at my car, keys in my mouth in the middle of a parking lot. Okay, right now is later. For some reason, I tried to  _ bend  _ my slime fingers. And for some ungodly reason, it actually worked. I flexed my ‘fingers’, staring at them, dumbfounded. 

They don’t feel like fingers, like the muscles don’t feel the same, but they work. They  _ work  _ like hands. That would’ve been nice to know when I was sat trying to get my keys out of my probably disgusting wallet. I spit the keys into my hands. So I might not  _ die  _ from this, but I had to get this done quickly.

I got into my car and started driving to Target. They’ll have some shitty slime I can do this experiment with. I’m like God, but a lot shittier.

As I step into the parking lot, the now all-too familiar feeling of slime ran up my forearm. I pulled up my sleeve. Yep, that’s slime. Fuck. 

It’s almost funny though. Slimecicle, turning into slime. I chuckled, laughing at my predicament I somehow found my way into. I don’t think I did anything that would’ve pissed off a wizard or something. Although, DnD might count as blasphemy to wizards, and I  _ do  _ play DnD a hell of a lot.

I tried not to think of all the ways I’ve insulted wizards through playing a roleplaying game as I stepped into Target and into the kid’s toys section.

Since the slime trend is about 2 years old, of course Target has marketed on it. They have a whole section of the isle dedicated to slime, and I took my time choosing the grossest looking one I could experiment with.

I couldn’t choose, so I settled on a random green one in a circular container. I paid for my goods and rushed to the Target bathroom, ready to probably unleash hell on earth. 

I made sure no one else was in the bathroom then took my coat off. I didn’t even realize my whole arm had been turned to slime, but I didn’t really care. Adrenaline was pumping in my veins, and I was ready to mix this shit.

I struggled to open the packaging, as my hands kinda just molded to the plastic, but I managed to get it open eventually. As soon as my slime touched the foreign slime it started to fall off the stubs of arm I have left.

I started panicking. I didn’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect to lose my arms a  _ second time. _

I now stare at the stumps that were once my arms, and I hear the door slam open. I look at who came in, and he just stares at me.

Then he slowly closes the door.

I run after him. “W-Wait!” I yell. I open the door, leaving behind what was once my arms. He turns around to look at me and raises one eyebrow. How is he so calm about this?

“Hey, could you uhm…” I try to calm down and gesture to the bathroom door. “…Help?”

He sighs and takes off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Sure, sure.” It catches me off guard how monotone his voice is, like he couldn’t care less about what he just witnessed. We walk into the bathroom and I let him open the door for me. I mutter a thanks as I walk through the doorway.

The first attempt he makes to get into the bathroom is unsuccessful, as he hits his head on the doorway. The second attempt he bends his head down, where I can see his face is bright red. I can’t help but laugh.

“You’d think you got like this overnight!” I’ve always been taller than most, but this guy was seriously  _ huge.  _ I don’t really blame him for bumping into shit, but it’s fun to poke fun at people.

He looks at me strangely, his expression almost solemn. Something about him feels… familiar, almost. I can’t really place it but I feel like we’re similar somehow.

“So how’d you end up like…” The man gestures to the pile of slime on the floor. “…This?”

“At least take me to dinner first!” I laugh. I can’t help but make jokes when he’s giving me such perfect opportunities. The guy huffs, seemingly exasperated. “But seriously, this morning my limbs just sort of… starting turning into slime.” For some reason he doesn’t look confused, but almost like he understands.

“So I thought, hey, if I’m gonna die, might as well try to mix this magic slime with regular slime before I do it!” I look at the stubs again. Those too, are now slime. “Shit,” I say.

“Something… similar… has happened to me too,” the guy says. I look at him, surprised. He’s looking at his ears in the mirror, which are pointed. He then looks at his teeth, where his canines resemble those of a dog’s, so  _ very  _ sharp.

I gesture at the forgotten plastic bag on the floor. “Do you think you could just scoop that up for me? I’d do it myself, but…” I laugh pitifully. The guy nods and he starts scooping the slime with his hand, not at all trying to hide his disgusted face.

Oh, god, that feels weird. It’s like I can  _ feel  _ the guys hand going through the slime that was once my arms. I shiver.

“Could you also… grab my coat?” I ask awkwardly. I wouldn’t normally ask this of a stranger, but it’s sort of necessary now. He nods and wraps the coat around me before handing me the plastic bag full of slime. I grab it with my teeth, but I only get so far before it falls out of my mouth.

As the bag falls, the guy rushes over and grabs it, even though I’m sure he was by the mirrors a second ago. He looks just as shocked as me to have caught it.

“Thanks,” I say, but he doesn’t offer the bag back out.

“Maybe you should crash at my place for a bit.” He says. “You’re not gonna be able to drive, anyway.” I look down at my lack of arms. He’s right.

I sigh. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

We walk in awkward silence as we make the way to his car. I try to start up some conversation. “I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“Technoblade. You can call me Techno if you want, though.” Technoblade shrugs.

“Well I’m Slimecicle, but you can call me Charlie.” I imitate his shrug, smiling.

“That’s… a drastic difference,” Techno says.

I shrug honestly this time. We walk in silence again, but it feels at least a bit more comfortable this time, since we’re not complete strangers.

As we get into the car, Techno seems to squish himself in, and again, I can’t help but laugh. He blushes a bit.

“Y’know, Techno,” I say. “I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHARLIE SLIMECICLE!!!!!!! anyways this was the main interaction I had planned so now I actually gotta plan more


	3. Technoblade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further addition to Slimecicle's sticky situation (literally).

How did I end up here, stuffed in my recently too-small car, with a guy who’s turning into slime, while I’m turning into whatever the hell I am? I try my best not to grip the steering wheel too tightly, seeing what happened last time.

I look over at Slimecicle, who’s nervously bouncing his leg. I would be too if I probably wouldn’t break something. We both seem to be in the same boat, somehow. I don’t believe it’s fate that we met, though, just some unfortunate circumstances.

I didn’t even think that it was weird to offer to bring some guy to my house without even knowing his name, but I wasn’t quite thinking at the moment. It must’ve been pretty terrifying to Slimecicle, I would be scared too.

“So how much longer is it to your house?” He asks nervously.

“Almost there,” I say. He nods and glares at the road. “Are you feeling carsick?” I ask.

“No, just slime-sick,” he says. “Le.” He adds, smiling, his mind seemingly off his predicament for a moment. I don’t try to hide my groan. This was a bad idea. He bursts into laughter at my exasperation.

We drive for a while longer before we reach my apartment. I squeeze out of the car and open the door for Slimecicle. He nods his thanks as he half-stumbles out, his balance seemingly off from the lack of arms.

We walk to the door, and I turn the key with a satisfying  _ click.  _ I open the door and gesture for Slimecicle to come inside, then put the bag of slime on the kitchen counter. 

The apartment isn’t too messy, if not a little dusty. It’s mostly my room that’s a disaster, so as long as he doesn’t go in there…

“Hey, what’s this room?” Slimecicle bumps into the door to my room, successfully opening it. He walks inside and starts talking, but I can’t hear him. I take off my glasses and rub the bridge of my nose. I’ve been doing that a lot today.

“How about you come back to the living room?” I see Slimecicle poke his head out of the doorway, then walk into the living room and sitting on the couch. I close the door to my room with a sigh, making sure you need to grab the handle to open it.

I sit down on the couch across from Slimecicle as he shakes off his jacket and lets it fall onto the couch. He uses his feet to slip off his shoes and socks to reveal his feet have also turned to green slime. Great.

I gesture to the bag of slime on the counter. “So what’re we doing with this?”

“Just uh, hand it to me, I guess,” Slimecicle says, so I put the bag on his lap. “What if I…” he mutters to himself as he sticks his stubs into the bag of slime. As he pulls it back out, the slime rematerializes into the shape of an arm.

“Ah.” I’m not sure what else to say. Slimecicle’s eyes light up as he sticks his other stub into the slime. I stand up and look into the bag and see a small pile of slime sitting at the bottom. I grab the slime and point at it. “This yours?”

“I mean, I don’t feel it, so I don’t think so.”

“You can  _ feel  _ it?” I exclaim.

“Apparently.” He shrugs. I think back to when I was scooping up the slime off the floor. Slimecicle seems to know what I’m thinking about. “Yeah…” He laughs awkwardly.

I see green peek out of the bottom of his neck. “It seems to be spreading a lot faster, now.” I point to his neck. Slimecicle pulls his collar and inhales sharply, grimacing at his chest.

“My head’s gonna be down under soon.” He sighs and relaxes back on the couch. “I think I’ll live, but I’m not sure how I’m gonna deal with this.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. “Uhm…” I tilt my head. “You probably will?”

Slimecicle laughs. “Thanks, I guess.” He puts his face in his hands and groans. “I just want to be back to normal.”

Then, something strange happened. It started at his fingertips, his skin and nails reforming into a normal tan color. It spread up his arms, then his feet and legs, and finally his neck returned to normal. I stare at him, dumbfounded. I wonder if that’ll work for me?

“Holy.  _ Shit. _ ” Slimecicle stares at his hands. “Wait, wait, wait. Go back to slime. Just the hands.” As he said it, his hands morphed into slime. “What the fuck!?” He jumps off the couch, ecstatic. “Yo!”

“I want to go back to normal.” I mutter to myself. Nothing happens. Welp, worth a shot.

“Are you alright now?” I ask.

“No way! I gotta test this!” Slimecicle shouts, his eyes sparking in excitement. “How far can this go? I want to be a…” he pauses, thinking. “A  _ tiger! _ ” 

“Maybe that’s not such a good —” Before I can stop him, Slimecicle’s body morphs into a pile of green slime before morphing into a large, bright orange tiger. Much more orange than anything natural.

“Ah.” I rub my eyes with my palms. “Can you please turn back now?” The tiger grunts in what I hope is agreement before roaring and returning to the pile of slime, then going back to being human.

Slimecicle stands in the middle of the room. “That was…” his eyes light up. “ _ So fucking cool! _ Wait, wait, wait. I want to be buff!” He waits for a few seconds before it’s apparent that’s not going to happen. He sighs. “Man, the one thing I wanted to do.”

“It looks like you’re limited to one thing of each form,” I say. “By the way, was that tiger exactly how you imagined it?” Slimecicle nods. “So you get some sort of say in it, but it’s final. Be more careful next time, then.”

“How do you know all this?” Slimecicle asks. 

I shrug. “Simple deduction skills.”

“Too much for my brain.” He waves his hand dissmisively.

We pause in uncomfortable silence for a time.

“So do you wanna…” I gesture at the door. “Get your car back?”

“Oh!” Slimecicle exclaims. “Yeah, probably.” He grabs his coat and smiles widely. “It’s so nice to be able to grab things again!” He laughs, more out of joy than something being funny. I can’t help but slightly smile at his excitement.

“By the way, could I get your number?” I ask and point at my phone, which is sitting on the kitchen table.

“Buy me a drink first.” Slimecicle wiggles his eyebrows before laughing and pulling out his phone from his coat pocket. “Put yours in and I’ll put mine.” I hand him my phone and he hands me his. I dial my number into the contacts list and name it ‘Technoblade’.

He hands me back my phone and I see that he’s written ‘Charlie’ as his contact name with a frog emoji next to it. I chuckle at the stupid addition, but I don’t delete it.

Slimecicle’s flexing his fingers, staring at them like a newborn baby. “C’mon, Slimecicle, as much as I want your car to get broken into, I doubt you’d like it very much.”

“You can just call me Charlie,” he says.

“Okay Charlie.” A slight smile escapes my lips. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frequent updates POG?????? I have a few ideas for other character interactions but it's just gonna be Techno and Charlie for a bit so their relationship can grow (: (PLATONICALLY)  
> Charlie's powers are inspired by this SCP fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23084605/chapters/55224130 give it a read! It's quite good
> 
> ((1/21/21 edit: just remembered Charlie is like stupidly buff irl. pretend he's a skinny bitch for story's sake))


	4. Slimecicle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two pals bond over video games.

I awkwardly sip a coffee across from Techno. I had the bright idea to ask him to hang out, and we did, but it’s been… sub par at best. I’ve found he’s not much of a talker, so much so that I can’t even get him to talk, and I’m really good with people.

I’ve found out his favorite color is pink, that he has a brother and a sister, and… that’s it. Just small talk shit.  _ Boring  _ small talk shit. I look at him, tilting my head. He doesn’t seem bored, but more… uncomfortable? I don’t blame him, honestly.

“So, you play any video games?” I ask.

His eyes seem to light up for a moment before calming down. “Yeah, how about you?”

I smile. “Do I? It’s basically all I do!” I pause and scratch my neck. “That sounds… pretty sad, actually.” Techno chuckles at that comment. “What games do you play?”

“Mostly Minecraft and Team Fortress 2.” He shrugs, but there’s a certain spark in his eyes that I haven’t seen before. “I used to play Hypixel  _ way  _ too often, but I’ve calmed down a bit.”

“I really just… play whatever.” I laugh. “But I play Minecraft, too. What’s your username? You can add me on Hypixel.”

“Technoblade.”

“Neat, I’m Slimecicle.”

“I gathered,” he chuckles.

“It could’ve been Charlie from all you know. Maybe I’m a veteran with an original name and you’re not smart enough to see it.” I put my hand on my chest dramatically.

“Bedwars 1v1 then, let’s go.” Techno’s eyes glimmer mischievously.

“Bring it on.” I stand up and slam my hand on the table. “I’ll beat your ass.”

Techno shrugs. “We’ll see.” He reaches out his hand. “So it’s a deal? No backing out after this.”

I grab his hand and shake it. His hands are big, and his grip is tight. “I’ve never been a quitter, and I’m not gonna start now.” I slump back down into my chair and laugh. Little does he know I’m actually shit at Minecraft. Fake it ‘till you make it, that’s what I always say.

We start chatting about different games we like or want to buy until I remember what Techno said.  _ I used to play Hypixel way too often.  _ I stop and stare at him. He smirks. I might get my ass beaten today.

\-----------

I hop onto my computer after tidying up my room. After seeing Techno’s room I thought it wouldn’t hurt to clean mine up a bit.

I open Discord where I see that Techno’s online, presumably waiting for me to message him. We exchanged Discords earlier so we didn’t have to take the time to do it later. I message him.

_ Slimecicle: Ready to lose? _

_ Technoblade: I should be the one asking that. _

A few moments after he sends the message the Discord ringtone starts to echo in my headphones. I click the accept call button.

“Hello? Is my mic working?” Techno asks. I’m caught off guard for a moment from how low his voice sounds on-call.

“You’re good,” I respond.

I log into Minecraft and join Hypixel. “Are you in?”

“Yep, I’ve done a few practice rounds.”

“You scared?”

“Nope. Just not warmed up.”

“That sounds like the talk of someone who’s scared they’re gonna get their ass handed to them.” I laugh. I like calling people because it lets me be a lot ballsier than I would in-person.

I type  _ /f add Technoblade  _ in game chat.

_ [PIG+++] Technoblade has accepted your friend request. _

“How the  _ hell  _ did you get a pig rank?” I shout. “That doesn’t even exist!” Techno bursts into laughter, and I can hear him when a high pitched scream followed by a loud  _ thunk _ indicates that he fell out of his chair.

“Ow.” It’s my turn to start laughing as I imagine him in a too-small chair, then falling off. “I’m not used to this, okay? Let’s just play.” I can hear the embarrassment in his voice.

_ [PIG+++] Technoblade has invited you to join their party! Click here to join! You have 60 seconds to accept. _

_ Slimecicle has joined the party! _

I immediately get warped to a doubles map with just Techno and I. His skin is a pig with a crown in a royal outfit. I snicker at his choice of skin.

“What? You like my skin?” he asks jokingly.

“Of course,” I say. “Who wouldn’t shed tears of joy upon witnessing the sheer beauty that is a royal pig?”

Techno laughs. “Choose the red team so we’re across from each other.” I right click on the noteblock and click on the red wool. 

The 5 second countdown begins. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… as soon as I’m teleported in I walk backwards into the generator. It’s painfully slow.

“Why’d it have to choose a slow iron map?” Techno groans. “Also we can’t bridge to other islands for resources.”

“My plans have been foiled!” I cry out.

I wait until I get 4 pieces of gold so I can place wood around my bed. As soon as I’m done, I hear Techno shout.

“ _ NOOOOO! _ ”

_ Technoblade fell into the void. _

He pauses for a good five seconds. “It was a visual glitch. That didn’t happen.”

“Mhm.” I start laughing as I slowly bridge to the diamond generator. I’ve seen techniques to bridge fast, but I don’t really try to get good at games, moreso have fun with them.

While we’re playing, we talk and joke with each other, feeling more natural than previous interactions.

While I’m gathering emeralds at middle, big red text in the middle of the screen displays:  _ Bed Destroyed, You will no longer respawn! _

“What the fuck?” I yell. “What the fuck?” I run over to look at my base where Techno’s character is punching at me and jumping to make it look like he’s waving. I groan. “Y’know what? I’m too good for this. I’m just gonna break your bed.”

I run over to Techno’s base, failing to notice the chat at the bottom telling me that he jumped into the void. Once I get there, he’s waiting for me and two-shots me off the map. I yell curses as I fall into the abyss.

He laughs triumphantly.

I groan into my palms. “It was just a practice round. I’m really good at this game.”

“Is now a good time to tell you that I was the first person to get an 1000 winstreak in Bedwars?” Techno asks.

“ _ What. _ ” I pause and start to process what he said. Come to think of it, his username sort of rang a bell with me, but I brushed it off. I realize I shouldn’t have. “How about we play some doubles together, eh?” I say overenthusiastically.

“No can do.” Techno chuckles.

I’m in for a ride, aren’t I?

We play some private matches for a while, with me winning a grand total of one in the hour we faced off against each other. Eventually we got bored, so we went into a few doubles matches and sweeped the floor, although we did lose some, definitely not thanks to my incompetence.

I check the time.  _ 6:00.  _ “It’s getting pretty late. I should probably eat dinner now.”

“Heh?” I hear Techno ask before pausing, presumably to look at the time. “Ah, yeah, I probably should too.”

“Well, it was fun playing with you, man. We should do this more often,” I say.

Techno hums in agreement. “We should. Call you later?”

“Call you later.” I click the bright red disconnect button on Discord. I scroll up to look at the length of the call, since Techno and I sent some messages to each other while we were talking.  _ 3 hours, huh? Not bad. _

I take my headphones off my head and place it on my desk, my ears feeling the cool air for the first time in hours. My water bottle is almost completely empty. I turn off my computer and head to the kitchen.

I think I like this Techno guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a bit stuck towards the end, but I managed to pull through eventually!  
> The next chapter's gonna be a bit angstier, so I wanted a lighthearted chapter to prepare.   
> I'm honestly not the greatest at writing character dynamics and interactions, but I think I did alright this chapter [:
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


	5. Technoblade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey hey! This isn't supposed to be schizophrenia or any other mental disorder. This is a completely fantasy-based thing and I sincerely apologize if I offend anyone through my writing.
> 
> also a TW for panic attacks.

It was a few days ago when I first heard it. Or rather, them, I guess. I’m still not too sure myself.

I was looking through my fridge for something to eat, my stomach growling at me angrily for putting off eating for so long. I honestly didn’t mean to, but I was on my phone for a good while mindlessly scrolling through any social media app I had.

 _Who’s this?_ I heard it ask. I looked around, checking to see if there was anyone in my apartment, to no avail. It must’ve been my imagination, I reasoned. 

I decided to go to the pantry and grabbed some microwave ramen. I ripped open the packaging, poured in the water and broth packet, then put it in the microwave.

 _They’re new._ I flinched. That time it startled me. I looked around my apartment again, more thoroughly this time. I checked in few rooms my run-down apartment has but I found nothing once again. 

By the time I finished looking the ramen was done, so I took it out and stirred it, then started eating it, not caring about the burning of my tongue in the process. I picked up my phone and started going on social media. I really need better habits.

As I ate, I swore I kept hearing someone say something every 15 minutes or so, most of the voices varied in pitch, tone, and gender. I chalked it down to heightened hearing from my new abilities or something. After maybe 2 hours they stopped altogether, and I thought it was the end of it.

I should stop being so optimistic.

The next day the voices came back, steadier and louder this time. It started while I was on the couch, reading a book.

_Why are we here now?_

_Who are you?_

_Where is this?_

A headache started forming. I set down the book and rubbed my temples.

_Where is our old host?_

_Who are you?_

_Why do you look like him?_

_You aren’t him._

_Who are you?_

I pulled a strand of my newly dyed hair. This was definitely not heightened hearing. Who was their old host? Are there more people that have had the same thing happen to them?

_Why are we here?_

_Who are you?_

_Why have you stolen his body?_

_Where are we?_

I start to talk out loud. “I’m Technoblade.” The voices seemed to quiet down after that. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

_We’re chat!_

_Chat._

_We were gone for a while, I think. Longer than before._

_We’re chat._

_We could say the same about you._

_Why do you look like him?_

“Chat, huh?” I asked. “Weird.”

_Rude._

_That’s mean._

I couldn’t help but chuckle, even with the splitting headache that overtook me. All of the voices sound like different people. I could actually hear them, discern their different voices.

“When was the last time you were…” I pause, thinking for the right word. “Active?”

_I don’t know._

_I’m not sure._

_I don’t remember._

_A long time ago, I think._

The voices had started overlapping at that point, more of them coming and saying relatively the same thing. It was getting very repetitive.

“Who was your… old host?” I asked.

_Very strong._

_A god._

_Warrior._

_Why do you look like him?_

A… god? Well, that was new. Why do I look like a fallen warrior? Did he also have this issue? I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, thinking of what to ask next.

“Was he… literally a god? Or just a very good warrior?”

_Depends on who you ask._

_I don’t know, honestly._

_God._

_Warrior._

_Blood for the blood god._

That last one seemed to stick with them, as they started repeating it. Over. And over. And Over again. The only thing I could hear was the voices as they gradually got louder and louder, seeming to be shouting at this point. There were so many. Too many. Why? Why were they here?

I started shaking, my breathing coming in heaves. I couldn’t handle this. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I curled my body into my knees and started grabbing at my scalp, a habit I have when I’m stressed.

_Blood for the blood god._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Blood for the blood god._

How could I make it stop? Could I make it stop? Why did I deserve this? Why? Why me? I put my face in my hands to try and stop myself from full on crying.

And just like that, it was over. They suddenly stopped. I looked around. Everything was so clear. I could _hear_ again, I could process things again. I was still shaking when I slipped my glasses back onto my face. I hadn’t even realized they had fallen off.

I stared at my phone, which laid untouched on the other couch. I debated whether or not to call someone, tell them everything that just happened. I decide to grab my phone and scroll through my contacts. Relatives are a no-go. Maybe Phil, but I doubt he’d believe me, even if he is my closest friend. Dream, Wilbur Fundy…

I stop when Charlie’s contact appears. I hover my finger over it before deciding not to call. He’d understand, but… I don’t think we’re close enough friends for me to dump my stress onto. 

I throw my phone onto the couch and sigh. What did I do to deserve this, I wonder. I let my thoughts drift.

Honestly what _did_ I do to deserve this? Although it’s troublesome, what did I do to work for this at all? I don’t fucking deserve to be ripped and super strong for just sitting at my computer and playing video games all day. I had fully believed I got _super hearing_ for an hour yesterday and I didn’t even bat an eye.

What did I do to deserve any of this, the good and bad? Why am I being rewarded for doing nothing? It’s like getting 10 grand for a participation award, while first place gets a $10 gift card to Papa Johns or something.

I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. God, I’m so tired. Do I even deserve to say that? When I have this much newfound power and I’m _still_ doing nothing with my life? I could be beating up robbers and catching bullets with my bare hands or something.

I decided that I was in fact, tired.

I went to bed at 3:00pm.

\----------

I wake up feeling like shit. I go to check my phone only to realize it’s not there. I must’ve forgotten to charge it in my fit of self-pity.

I groan and stare at the ceiling, my bed feeling worse than sleeping on bricks. I don’t get up, though. I’m too tired. I aimlessly stare at my fan going around and around, hoping that somehow I’ll fall back asleep if I stay still long enough.

I don’t.

I close my eyes and sigh. I promised myself I would break my awful sleep schedule. I don’t even know what time it is, but I can gauge from the lack of sun that it’s early in the morning.

I begrudgingly roll out of bed, my thoughts groggy. I grab my phone from the couch and plug it in next to my bed. It’s 6 in the morning.

In my groggy state I decide to put my jacket on and go onto the roof. I live on the top floor, so it isn’t a long climb. When I open the door ice cold wind hits my face, waking me up a bit more. I decide to sit near the ledge and rest my head on the part sticking up.

I’m not really sure what I’m doing. Waiting for sunrise, I suppose. It won’t be too much longer, as I see the faintest hint of yellow line the bottom of the tall buildings.

For the first time, it feels nice to feel small. I haven’t felt like that in a while.

I look down onto the streets. There are a few cars and a handful of people moving from what I can see. It’s peaceful.

_Jump down._

I jump backwards. “What?”

_Jump down and snap their necks._

“Excuse me?”

_We demand blood._

_Kill them._

_Blood for the blood god._

All the voices come rushing in at once, causing me to walk backwards a few steps before losing my balance and falling onto the hard concrete.

_Kill._

_Death._

_Kill them._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Kill them._

_We demand blood._

My heart races and my shaky breaths become rapid. My whole body shakes aggressively as my breaths are illuminated by the cold. I stare at my hands, which won’t still. Would I even be able to kill someone?

_Yes._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Do it._

_You can, don’t worry._

_You’ve done it before._

_It’s not difficult._

_Kill them all._

_Death to all of them._

I start to panic. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I feel like I’m about to vomit.

_Blood._

_Kill._

_Jump down, you’ll survive._

_Kill them._

_Death._

_Blood._

_We demand it._

I can’t tell if my limbs are going numb from the cold or the panic attack. Maybe it’s something else. I’m scared. I’m so scared. What if I lose control of my body? What if I actually hurt someone? I definitely could. I grasp my stomach so hard it feels like I’ll pass out.

_Do it._

_You don’t even have to jump. Just take the elevator._

_Kill them._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Kill them all._

I shakily stand up and fumble open the door. I stumble my way downstairs, gripping my head and trying my best to block the voices out. It’s futile.

_Go all the way downstairs._

_Kill them._

_Choke them._

_Snap their necks._

_Death._

I hastily open the door to my apartment and rush into my bedroom, knocking things over in my panic. My limbs feel too heavy and too light at the same time. Like I could lose control at any second. I can’t let that happen. I _won’t_ let that happen.

_Kill._

_Blood for the blood god._

_Destruction._

_What’re you doing?_

_Kill them._

I unlock my phone after three failed attempts. I feel so dizzy, but I have to keep pushing through. I feel like I’m dying.

_Break the phone._

_You don’t need it._

_Kill them._

_Grab a knife from the kitchen._

I click Phil’s contact and hit _call._ It rings for a solid ten seconds before he picks up.

“Hello?” he asks, his voice groggy from just waking up.

_Hang up._

_Kill them all._

_Death._

_Blood for the blood god._

“Phil,” I plead. “I need help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mans is STRESSED  
> plot twist! next chapter is ALSO angsty! have fun  
> I pumped this out in 1 hour and it's 2 am so apologies for any errors I'll correct them in the morning :D


	6. Philza Minecraft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil helps an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, TW for panic attacks.

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. I rub my eyes and put on my glasses, checking to see who would ever call this early in the morning.

Techno? He would never get up this early.

I pick up the phone and put it to my ear. “Hello?” Kristen stirs beside me but doesn’t get up.

There’s silence on the other side before Techno’s shaky voice greets me. “Phil,” he pleads. “I need help.”

“Woah, woah, woah, what’s wrong, ‘mate?” I hurriedly ask. I haven’t heard Techno this panicked in a long time. It’s very worrying.

“Please just…” I hear his shaky breaths from across the line. “Please just come over.”

“Okay. I’ll be there soon,” I say, getting out of bed.

Kristen wakes up. “Where are you going?” she asks sleepily.

“Something’s up with Techno,” I say. “I’ll be back soon.” I kiss her on the forehead and run out to get my jacket. I grab my keys and run to my car, still on call with Techno, trying to reassure him that everything’s gonna be okay.

I get into the car and drive as fast as I can to Techno’s apartment. He’s devolved to shaky breaths and the occasional quiet “no’s”. I can’t even imagine what’s happening to him.

I make it to his apartment and take the elevator to the 5th floor, hanging up on the way up after telling him I’ll be there soon. I rush to his room and turn the handle to the door. It’s unlocked.

I push open the door and make sure to lock it behind me. I hear sobs and heavy breaths coming from Techno’s room. I cautiously peek my head over the door, where I see a very tall man shaking and crying over a turned off phone. He’s running his hands through his hair, seeming like he’s about to pull it out.

I’m taken aback. Is that Techno? It sounds like him, and I don’t know anyone else who has that shade or length of pink hair.

“Techno?” I ask cautiously. He doesn’t seem to hear me. I take a few steps closer. “Techno, is that you?” I place a hand on his shoulder.

He whips his head around frantically, his eyes wet with tears. “Phil…” he says. He can’t seem to get anything else out before he grabs his head. He looks like he’s in a lot of pain.

“Hey, I’m here. What happened to you?” I sit down next to him, reassuringly patting his shoulder. He towers over me.

“I…” He takes a few shaky breaths. “These voices, Phil.” He says each word slowly, like his thoughts are elsewhere. “They won’t stop.” He gasps like it took all the effort in the world to say. It probably did, judging by his state.

“Voices?” I ask warily. There have been no other indicators throughout my time knowing him that he hears voices. These can’t just appear out of nowhere, can they?

“They’re telling me to _kill,_ Phil,” he whispers. I’m only barely able to hear him. “Kill the people on the street, kill my neighbors…” He pauses and quietly gasps. “Even you.” He looks up at me. “They won’t stop.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. What am I supposed to say to that? Why is this happening to him of all people?

“Has this happened before?” I ask. He doesn’t respond. His senses seem to be overtaken by the voices. I hold his face in my hands and force him to look at me. “Hey, focus on my voice. We’ll figure out something, okay?” He nods. His eyes are red and puffy from crying. “So when did this start?”

“Maybe two days ago,” he whispers, like he can’t bear to talk any louder. “It wasn’t as bad, though. Just a few comments here and there.” His eyes seem to clear as he continues to talk. “But then the next day they were louder. It wasn’t bad until they started chanting…” he pauses, like he thinks he’ll sound crazy if he says it. “They started chanting ‘blood for the blood god’.”

“And how’d you get like this?” I gesture to him. Keeping his mind elsewhere seems to be working.

“I’m not sure, I just started changing one day.” He chuckles to himself. “Crazy thing is, I ran into another guy who was having relatively the same issues as me.”

“What was up with him?” I ask. There are more people who are like Techno?

“He was turning into slime.” Techno laughs quietly. “We figured out how to deal with that, though.”

How could you possibly figure out how to deal with something like that? I’m dumbfounded as to how this could possibly happen to not just one, but two people. Plus the chances of those two meeting are even less. 

My moment of contemplation is cut short by Techno yelling and grabbing his head again. What the hell am I supposed to do? How can I help him? 

I wrap my arms around him tightly in an embrace. Techno’s never been one for physical contact, but I just need something to keep him grounded. I’m sure he won’t mind, just this once. 

His body shakes underneath my arms as he grips onto them. He’s holding them so tightly I feel like my bones are gonna break. He takes a few breaths to steady himself.

“They’re apologizing,” he finally says, his voice unsteady.

“What?” I ask. Those _things_ have the audacity to apologize after what they made Techno go through? Telling him to kill to the point of a panic attack?

“They’re saying they’re used to violence. It’s all their old ‘host’ did,” he says. He stares at me. “Am I gonna turn out like that, Phil?”

He’s scared. I can tell that he’s terrified of what he could become. “Not if I can help it,” I reassure him. He nods.

“Now they’re saying goodbye. Why are they saying goodbye?” Techno seems to stare at nothing for a moment before he relaxes. “They’re gone.” He laughs quietly. “They’re gone.”

“Gone?” I ask.

“I can hear my own thoughts again. Everything’s so clear now,” he says, but sighs afterwards. “They’re gonna come back, though. I know it.” He stands up and sits on his bed. I follow his lead and sit next to him.

“What are you going to do to stop it, then?” I ask. I don’t know what he could do, honestly.

Techno shakes his head. “I don’t know. Talking to you quieted them down a bit. I think they like you.” He stares out the window in contemplation. “Focusing helped, too.” He looks back at me. “You did the right thing, I think, Phil. Thank you.” He smiles and starts coughing. “God, my throat is sore.”

“You want some water?” I ask. I’m proud of myself for being able to help him.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Okay, wait here.” I walk over to the kitchen and pour some water in a glass for him. I walk back to his bedroom and hand him the water. He takes it gratefully.

“So,” I start. “Tell me everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for the angst! I honestly love writing angst so much  
> PHILZA MINECRAFT!!!!!  
> Don't worry, he'll get a bigger role soon enough (;  
> Forgot to mention that everyone lives in California, just with varying distances away from each other :D
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


	7. Slimecicle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fish man, meet merman.

I decided to drive to a nearby lake earlier today. I’m not really sure why, but I decided it was a good idea. 

It’s a colder day, since its December, so there aren’t any people here. It’s not a well-known area, so there’s rarely people, anyway. I only have a light jacket on since these temperatures are basically spring where I’m from.

Honestly, I know why I went to the lake, but I’ve been nervous someone will see me the entire time so I’ve just been walking along the shore like a loser. It isn’t a nice day, either, the sky is grey and the sun is mostly covered by the clouds. I’m hyper-aware of the fact that I look like a complete fucking nerd.

I stare out at the lake, the soft wind blowing my hair into my face. I lean over the water and look at myself in its reflection. It looks the exactly the same as the other thousand times I’ve looked at it today, if not for my hair being messier.

Ever since I found out about my powers I’ve been thinking. Is the person I’ve seen in the mirror the past 22 years really even me? How do I know that I didn’t just steal some random baby’s identity when I was a… little slime, I guess? Whenever I’m transitioning between forms, I have to go back to a pile of slime for a few seconds, and every time I’m in that form all I can feel is… longing.

Well, it’s less longing, I guess, and more need. A need for a solid form. A need to  _ be  _ something.

I shake my head. I’ve ignored the feeling tugging at me for the past week, and I can keep doing it now. I clap my hands and rub them together, newly energized. I’m ready.

I’ve been switching between the tiger, slime, and human form for a while now, trying to get a grip of the extent of my abilities. Honestly, I’ve just been scared I’m gonna fuck something up when I try a new form and be stuck as a blob fish or something for a fish form, which is what I’m going for today.

I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I  _ think  _ I can alter the biology of my forms however I want, as long as it can still be classified as that species, which is good for me, because I don’t know jack shit about fish biology. Must’ve skipped that class or something.

Okay, enough stalling. I’m ready. “Uh…” I don’t know what I should say. “Fish! Sure!” I picture a fish and then start yelling in my mind.  _ Freshwater and saltwater fish, freshwater and saltwater fish, freshwaterandsaltwaterfi _ _ — _

I feel myself start to turn to slime as I slowly reform into a dull green, medium-sized fish. I realize all-too late that I was standing on land when I changed.

_ Shit shit shit shit shit shit _

I flop over to the water whilst holding my… breath? Gills? I have no fucking clue. As soon as I land in the water though, I let out a blub of relief knowing I can breathe freshwater. Hopefully I can in saltwater, too.

It feels  _ very  _ weird being this small. Everything is terrifying right now. I don’t think I’m a species that exists, though, so hopefully I’ll have no natural predators. I slip through the net sectioning off the deep part of the lake and I stare at what’s laid out before me.

First off, I can see a hell of a lot better now that I’m a fish. And from what I can see, it looks like a fucking jungle down here. There’s seaweed, moss… plants… 

But most importantly, there’s other fish. Do… do fish communicate to each other? I guess I’ll have to find out then, won’t I? I swim up to a nearby fish and raise my fin in some sort of greeting. 

I don’t think that’s how fish talk to each other, though, because the other fish makes some odd pops and vibrating sounds that roughly translates to “who the hell are you?” I mean, probably, at least. I only sort of understand what it’s saying.

I realize I can make those sounds too, so I try to talk and it comes out as a few grunts with not-so-nice feeling vibrating coming from inside of me. “Uh. I’m Slimecicle.”

“The fuck is a ‘Slimecicle’?” the other fish asks.

“Well now I just don’t wanna tell you.” I smile internally, since I can’t smile as a fish. At least I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t know fish could talk to each other like three minutes before now.

“Why not?”

“I mean, for a fish, you spout quite a few profanities.”

“You’re a fish too.”

“Yep. Forgot.”

“How’d you forget?”

I start to tune him out as he starts to ask a flurry of questions. My eyes rest on a vaguely human-looking shape. Wait, there can’t be humans this far out in the lake. I ignore the other fish as I swim over to the person.

As I get closer, I start to notice… less human-looking features. There’s gills on their neck and bright blue scales scattered around their body. Before I can get any closer, I feel a force ram into me as I get thrown forward, causing the person to swim away.

“Hey! What’s the big deal, buddy?” I shout.

“It’s rude to ignore someone, ‘buddy’.” The other fish scowls. If a fish could scowl. Man, this is weird.

“Well I was getting bored, my good ‘ol buddy friend pal. You gotta understand.” Does sarcasm even translate to fish? “Anyways, who’s the human guy?”

“Have you just not been in this lake or something? He’s been around for a few weeks now.”

“You could say that. Anything else?”

“He doesn’t seem to be fully human. He’s got gills and scales and shit. I think one time he had a full-on tail, too. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“So he’s a mermaid? Merman?” I ask.

“The hell is that?”

I sigh. Well, at least I got some good info. “Thanks, man. I’ll be heading out now.”

“Uh. Sure.” The other fish swam away until I couldn’t see them anymore.

I start to follow where I think the mermaid person went. I see a shadow go behind a rock and I quickly follow it. As I turn the corner I’m greeting with a face directly in front of me. His hair is brown and curly, and his gaze pierces into my soul.

“Why are you following me?” he says with a heavy British accent. I stumble backwards a bit, surprised that he’s able to talk underwater, and also surprised by the accent. I mean, we’re in the middle of California, why would he have a British accent?

“Why are you a mermaid? Are you like me? Did this happen suddenly?” I ask, but by his confused gaze I realize he can’t understand me.

He sighs. “It’s probably just a coincidence anyway.” He starts to swim away, but I slam into his nose as fast as I can. “Ow! What was that for, dickhead?” he yells, rubbing the spot I hit him.

I try to gesture over to land, and I think he gets the message enough and he follows me through a hole in the net into the shallow area. I swim over to the shore, and before he can grab me I jump onto the sand. “Hey, what’re you — _ ” _

Before he can finish his sentence I’m flopping on the too-dry sand. Everything feels too dry.  _ Human, human, human, human, human, human, c’mon, human— _

I feel my body turn back into slime and then reform into my normal body. “Oh thank  _ god! _ ” I shout. “Sweet, sweet air! We’ve reunited.” From being a fish for approximately ten minutes, I’ve found that ‘breathing’ as a fish is much different from breathing as a human. I vaguely remember a teacher saying something about how fish gills take the oxygen out of water, or something along those lines.

The mermaid guy jumps out of the water, his body now human. Wow, he’s almost as tall as Techno. “What the  _ fuck?! _ ” he yells.

“I could say the same to you.” My breaths are heavy, my body readjusting to breathing normally.

“No, no, no. What did you just do?” He points at me accusingly.

I pat the pockets of my jacket looking for my phone, panicking when it isn’t there. I spot it lying in the sand along with my wallet and keys a few feet away from where I’m standing. Good thing this place is practically deserted.

I walk over to my belongings and pick up my phone, unlocking it and opening Techno’s contact. “Let me make a call first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BABY!!!!  
> Y'all I had to DO RESEARCH ON FISH LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK BY VIBRATING THEIR LITTLE FISH BLADDER OR SOMETHING WTF????????  
> The pacing of this chapter's kinda shit but I kinda just wanted to put something out there (maybe I'll redo it one day, but that day is not today)  
> You can probably guess who this is based on their description.
> 
> ((as always, criticism is appreciated! (:))


	8. Technoblade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fishy man take me by the hand

Today’s been a good day. Ever since the fiasco with chat, things have quieted down quite a bit with them. They only come for a couple hours every day or two, and they’ve become much more docile after I had a discussion with them about  _ not  _ telling me to kill everyone in my path.

Since that night I called Phil, face wet with tears and in an unknown body, he’s made it his mission to check up on me every day. Whether that be through calls or him coming over to my apartment to hang out. 

Today was one of those days, and we went to a nearby festival and hung out there for a while. It was honestly exhausting, as I don’t get out of the house that much, but Phil’s basically been mothering me, forcing me to start gaining better habits at a faster pace than I thought possible. I’ll admit, it wasn’t awful with him to keep me company. I barely have any friends who live shorter than 20 minutes away from me, so I’m thankful he does these kinds of things with me.

I’m sitting on the couch, reading  _ The Black Cauldron,  _ something that I was gonna get around to reading a while ago but never did. I supposed I might as well start now.

I hear a faint buzzing sound coming from my bedroom accompanied by the cringey song parody of Toxic by Britney Spears I made when I was 17. I groan. Phil must’ve changed it while I wasn’t looking. I regret ever showing my old YouTube videos to him now.

I set my book down and walk into my bedroom to see who’s calling me. Oh, it’s Charlie.

I pick up the phone. “Halloo?” I ask, extending the o at the end.

“Hey, I was testing out my powers and found this mermaid guy at the lake,” Charlie says, his audio slightly off due to the wind blowing around him.

“I’m not a mermaid!” I hear a faint voice shout in protest, so quiet I thought it was chat for a moment. His accent is heavily british, his voice deep. It sounds familiar, almost.

“Who’s that?” I ask, but judging from his comment I can already guess who it is.

“The mermaid guy,” Charlie responds. “Could you get over here so I can figure out how to deal with him?”

“Eeyep,” I say with a yawn. I’m honestly exhausted, but I think I can handle one more social interaction for the day.

“Alright, I’m at Locke Lake, by the way. I’ll see you later,” Charlie says.

“Be there in 5.” I hit the red  _ end call  _ button in the middle of the screen and start to get ready to go out again.

I start to realize the weight of what’s happening. There’s someone else like me. Like  _ us.  _ Someone who has powers. Or at least, is much more magical than the average population. I hurry up putting my jacket and shoes on, admittedly at least a tad excited at the prospect.

\----------

I pull into the parking lot and see the silhouettes of two people awkwardly standing next to each other. I see no one else around, so I’m guessing that’s them.

I push open the metal gate surrounding the area and see the shorter of the two wave to me. I wave back and lightly jog over to them.

“Who’s he?” the British man asks. He feels  _ very  _ familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

“A friend of mine. He’s got powers, too,” Charlie responds.

The British man tilts his head. “He just looks like some jacked guy in cosplay.”

“I’m right here, y’know.” I cross my arms, slightly annoyed at this guy’s attitude. “So how’d you find him?”

“I morphed into a fish and found him swimming around with scales and whatever. I bashed into his face and he followed me to land.” Charlie shrugs nonchalantly, as if that wasn’t the strangest sentence ever uttered by mankind.

“Thanks for that, by that way.” The British man says, rubbing his nose. “Dickhead,” he mutters under his breath. I’m able to hear him easily, though, thanks to my heightened senses.

I take a good look at the British man’s face. I swear I’ve seen him before. Something about him is so familiar…

“Wilbur?” I ask, my sudden realization hitting me like a truck.

“How do you know my name?” He takes a single step backwards.

“Wilbur, it’s me, Techno. What are you doing in Cali?” I exclaim.

“Techno? What the hell?!” Wilbur shouts, ignoring my question. “You’re fucking jacked!”

“I know, dumbass.” I roll my eyes, smiling.

“Am I… intruding on something?” Charlie asks. “Did I just not get the memo… or…?”

“Charlie, meet Wilbur.” I gesture over to Wilbur. “We met online a few years ago, but haven’t kept in touch as of recently.”

“I can introduce myself,” Wilbur half-glares at me.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re rather standoffish around strangers,” I rebut.

“You’re not much better either, dickhead.” Wilbur grins sharply at me. I chuckle. He’s not wrong, I suppose.

“Yeah, he sort of kidnapped me first time we met.” Charlie points at me.

“I did not!” I shout, flustered.

“Wow, Techno. I didn’t know you were  _ that  _ kind of person.” Wilbur laughs.

“You agreed to it. You were gonna turn into a slime or something if I didn’t help.” I cross my arms, glaring at him.

“I would’ve figured it out, anyway. I wouldn’t have been able to fight back if I disagreed with you, either. If you haven’t noticed, you’re pretty fucking scary, dude.” Charlie laughs loudly, obviously amused by my discomfort.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever.” I look at Wilbur, shifting my attention to him. “So when did you start becoming a fish?”

Wilbur shrugs. “Maybe a week ago, at most.” Charlie and I shoot each other a quick glance. That’s a bit after our powers kicked in. “‘Was pretty damn confused when I started growing scales and gills, that’s for sure. Had a full-on tail once, too.” Wilbur rolls his eyes. “It’s not fair that you become jacked and I just get dehydrated faster.”

I shrug. “Not my fault. You just gotta get good.” I smile smugly at him.

“Oh, woe is you,” Charlie starts. “I sometimes turn into  _ goddamn  _ slime.”

“At least you get cool powers to go with it!” Wilbur shouts.

I hear whispers in the back of my head as chat starts to become legible. God, I’m already running on so little energy, I can’t deal with this right now.

_ Wilbur? _

_ Fishy man. _

_ Pretty scales. _

I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.

“You good, man?” Wilbur asks.

I nod, exasperated. “Not everything’s great about these powers…” I sigh again.

Charlie tilts his head, confused. “What?”

“I was meaning to tell you, but I forgot.” I laugh. “Kinda hard to forget in hindsight. But I’ve started hearing voices for the past week. Like,  _ a lot  _ of them. They were telling me to kill at first, but I think we’ve gotten past that phase.”

_ Our bad. _

_ We still want blood. _

_ Sorry about that. _

“To  _ kill?”  _ Charlie exclaims. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this sooner?”

I shrug. “Sorry.”

“We’re friends, okay?” Charlie puts his hand on my shoulder and looks at me. “Please tell me about these things, for my sake and yours.” He smiles gently. I’m a bit taken aback at his unusual tone, with him normally joking around and not being serious about anything.

I nod. “Mhm.”

_ Slime man pog! _

_ Comfort pog? _

_ Charlie Slimecicle friend arc. _

Charlie grins with his usual goofiness and takes his hand off my shoulder. “Great.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got an issue that I may be causing.” Wilbur points to the water. My eyes follow his hand and lands on the middle of the lake, where a large section of the lake is seemingly being pulled upwards.

I sigh. It always has to be on the days where I’m tired, don’t they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> friendship development pog????  
> I'm gonna try not to make Wilbur as edgy as he is in most fics, because while that's pretty great I think it's just a /tad/ overused, although I guess that's just his character lmao (not bashing on anyone specific, btw)
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


	9. Wilbur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fish man meets his clone or something? he's really not sure and you won't be either

Everyone’s panicking, although some are hiding it better to varying degrees. Me? Well, I’m absolutely fucking frantic and Techno looks like he couldn’t care less. Charlie’s more on the panicked side, too.

When I first realized I was able to breathe underwater, I thought it was pretty fucking cool, but as time went on I realized it wasn’t all that it was jacked up to be. I have to drink shit tons of water every day now, or else my hair and skin get dehydrated and I look like an old man.

I can’t just choose whenever I turn into a fish… person… either. Mermaid? Merman? I don’t even know. But either way, whenever I submerge myself into water I turn into my fishy form. Which is a bit of an issue since that’s the best way for me to rehydrate myself without having to piss every ten minutes.

I can’t just do it in the bath, since I live with roomates and I start to smell in my fish form. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. So every day I’ve been driving out to this god forsaken lake and swimming in it, bored out of my mind. I practically know it like the back of my hand, now. I’ve taken to terrorizing the local fish population, which has given me some form of entertainment.

But now the water that I’ve swam in for the past week is flying up to the heavens, and I have a strong feeling that I’m causing it, due to the intense, almost pulling feeling in my chest and the tingling on my fingertips.

“What do I do? What do I  _ fucking  _ do?” I shout.

Techno shrugs. “I don’t know, you’re the one causing it.”

“Well you seem to know more about these bloody powers than I do!” I yell, exasperated.

“I only know about mine,” Techno says defensively.

I can hear the blood rushing in my ears, the pulling feeling getting stronger and stronger as the water rises. I’m definitely the one causing this, but what the  _ hell _ am I supposed to do about it?

I click my tongue, wracking my brain to try and think of a solution as quickly as possible. I start to pace back and forth across the sand, my bare feet leaving imprints. I wonder in the back of my mind that if I paced long enough, would I eventually create a hole? I shake my head. I can’t be distracted now.

The wind feels like it’s blowing faster around me. I spare a moment to look over at Techno, who looks to be in contemplative thought, while Charlie is just staring at the water, dumbfounded. I sigh and wonder if there’s a single brain cell in that head of his. I guess Techno wouldn’t be friends with him if there wasn’t.

Right, back on track. What can I do about this? I try to relax my muscles and ‘let go’ of the water, so to speak. That doesn’t work, though. If only things were that easy.

My thoughts are racing, trying to find any solution to this issue. I’ve long since passed logical answers, and I’m trying anything I can. I think I stopped thinking about things logically when I started growing gills.

I pace back and forth at a faster rate, hoping that’ll speed my brain up somehow.

_ Calm down,  _ I think. I stop. That didn’t…  _ feel  _ like me. That didn’t feel like that thought was my own. It was in my voice, it was in my  _ head,  _ how couldn’t it be mine?

_ Look, I don’t have much more time, so you’re gonna have to calm down and shut the fuck up.  _ Yep. That sounds like me. But why? It feels familiar, almost, though. Like it  _ could  _ be me. That’s not right, though. There’s only one of me.

_ Listen, if you’re just gonna stand there and debate with yourself you can have fun dealing with the carnage.  _ Fine, fine. I’ve tried that before, but it wouldn’t hurt to try again, I suppose. I stop pacing and take a few deep breaths.

_ Great. Now, focus all of your attention on the water. What does it feel like? How heavy is it?  _ Pretty goddamn heavy, I imagine, and  _ wet,  _ I suppose. 

_ No shit, Sherlock. You gotta actually imagine yourself touching it, or else this isn’t gonna work and all the hoops I had to jump through to get here would’ve been for nothing.  _ Okay, voice in my head. You’re the boss. I try my goddamn best to feel the water, my hands gripping at nothing as I try to feel it. God, this is stupid.

_ Good, good. Now lower it.  _ What the hell does that mean? Whatever.

Still imagining the properties of the water, I try to imagine the feeling of the it lowering. I didn’t even realize I was closing my eyes until I open them and see the water slowly going back down. I try to lower it faster, but it works a bit too well as I loose my grip on it, and it falls back down with an all-too loud  _ plop. _

_ Dumbass. _

“Shut the fuck up,” I mumble to the voice.

_ Anyways, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but unfortunately I can’t answer them. Just know I’m sort of you, and that you’re gonna be much worse at controlling your powers after I leave. Which is now, by the way. Didn’t want to get too chummy with you just for you to be disappointed.  _ With that line, the voice fades away, leaving me with more questions than answers.

“We should probably leave before someone tries to investigate the noise.” Charlie tugs at mine and Techno’s arm nervously. “How about we meet up at the bakery?”

Techno gives him a single thumbs up with a hum of agreement, then walks away.

“We better get going, then.” Charlie grins. “Wouldn’t want him to beat us there, would we?”

I give him a small smile. “I suppose.”

“I have an idea.” Charlie smiles wickedly, then starts to run to the metal gates. “Last one there has to pay the bill!” he shouts.

“Oh hell no!” I yell at him, but he and Techno are already running to their cars. I sigh. I guess we’re doing this. I start sprinting as fast as I can, regretting that I parked relatively far away.

Before I can stop it, a small smile escapes my lips. Maybe these two won’t be so bad, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're 2 for 3 on the SleepyBois baby !!!!  
> just an FYI, I'm not adding any minors to the story, as much as I'd like to. I just think it'd be a bit strange for these children to be friends with 20+ year olds, especially since they're not streamers in this AU  
> I hope I portrayed Wilbur's main personality trait well with this, since I think I did a pretty good job  
> anyways I loved writing the interaction at the end, even if it was pretty short lmao
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


End file.
